Watch the short 46-minute film Life Lessons, part of the 1989 anthology film New York Stories, posted below. Write a short, 3-5 page essay discussing how the film uses the Narrative film language element, as discussed in class.
Answer the following questions:
What is the setting of the story? How does the setting have a dramatic effect on the story?
Describe the film’s main characters. Who is the protagonist? Who is the antagonist? Are they flat or round, dynamic or statis? Which are the main supporting characters?
What is the dramatic crisis of the characters? Is the crisis internal or external?
Focus on the film’s narrative structure. Describe the protagonist’s opening balance, and how the rising action begins. Which are the main rising action events? When does the climax occur, and how does the falling action solve the dramatic crisis? Is the resolution a closed or open ending?
What is the film’s theme(s)? What message do you read in this film?
